The present invention is related to an application entitled Method And Apparatus For Attaching An Informational Dialog To A Java Bean, attorney docket no. AT9-98-397, filed even date hereof, assigned to the same assignee and incorporated herein by reference.
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system and in particular to object-oriented programming systems. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for generating dips through a graphical user interface.
2. Description of Related Art
Object-oriented programming techniques involve the definition, creation, use, and instruction of xe2x80x9cobjectsxe2x80x9d. These objects are software entities comprising data elements or attributes and methods, which manipulate data elements. Objects also may include data related to events outside of the object to trigger or control methods within the object.
Java is an object oriented programming language and environment focusing on defining data as objects and the methods that may be applied to those objects. Java supports only a single inheritance, meaning that each class can inherit from only one other class at any given time. Java also allows for the creation of totally abstract classes known as interfaces, which allow the defining of methods that may be shared with several classes without regard for how other classes are handling the methods.
The Java virtual machine (JVM) is a virtual computer component that resides in memory. In some cases, the JVM may be implemented in a processor. The JVM allows Java programs to be executed on a different platform as opposed to only the one platform for which the code was compiled. Java programs are compiled for the JVM. In this manner, Java is able to support applications for many types of data processing systems, which may contain a variety of central processing units and operating systems architectures.
To enable a Java application to execute on different types of data processing systems, a compiler typically generates an architecture-neutral file formatxe2x80x94the compiled code is executable on many processors, given the presence of the Java run-time system. The Java compiler generates bytecode instructions that are non-specific to a particular computer architecture. These bytecodes are executed by a Java interpreter. A Java interpreter is a module in the JVM that alternately decodes and executes a bytecode or bytecodes.
A Java bean is a reusable component. Furthermore, since Java beans are a form of component software, it is often the case that one Java bean will be created by connecting together, or xe2x80x9caggregatingxe2x80x9d, several Java beans from various sources to form an application. Changing functionality in a Java bean, however, is normally difficult and requires altering the source code to add or change the functionality and then recompiling the altered source code to generate a new bean with the desired change and functionality. It would be advantageous to have an improved method and apparatus for altering the functionality in a Java bean without having to obtain and alter the source code for the Java bean.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus in a computer for creating a framework for a dip. Settings are displayed for the dip in a graphical user interface. Entries for each setting are received for the dip through the graphical user interface, wherein the overall policies of the dip are formed. A source code for the dip is generated using the selected settings, wherein the source code forms the framework for the dip.